The Case For Humans Needing Mind Altering States To Thrive
A hypothesis as to how humans evolved with psychedelics and mood altering substances & rituals
We have medicines to treat our physical bodies, but why have medicines like psilocybin mushrooms and San Pedro cactus for the mind been outlawed or shunned?
All across the globe, on nearly every continent, there are either plants or animals (namely toads) that induce mind altered states in humans. There are also many rituals that induce altered states that don’t require any substances.
Many mind altering plants are considered healing and anti-inflammatory, including Ayahuasca, Syrian Rue, San Pedro cactus and many others. They not only seem to help heal the mind, but also the body. Alternatively in our society, substances like alcohol and cigarettes/vaping are known for their addictive properties and how hard they can be on the body.
To be fair, tobacco and alcohol are ancient medicines, but the way our society consumes them in their potent and manipulated forms leaves many of its users with only momentary respite, craving their next hit. It certainly leads to guaranteed profits for companies when its consumers can’t ever get enough. Let’s not even talk about sugar and the food industry.
What profits are there for the healed mind? A mind that’s able to escape from its addictions, its feelings of disconnection, of suffering. To be able to consume something that you can grow in your own home like mushrooms, what big profits are to be had in that? Why would a company want to promote something that healed people’s addictions and insecurities and made them consume less? That sounds like an economic crisis.
In addition to psychoactive and hallucinogenic substances, there are plants that promote vivid and lucid dreaming like the Mexican dream herb, Calea zacatechichi, where accounts of speaking with deities and divinities for guidance in dreams were commonplace. Even without dream-promoting plants, lucid dreaming is an activity that has been gaining in popularity over the years.
For those interested in legal psychoactives (at least in California), Syrian rue is by far my favorite. AncestralMagi.com and ChooseOrigin.com are 2 companies I use for Syrian rue microdosing and macrodosing. In higher amounts these substances cause nausea and vomiting, but taking 8-10 drops of food grade limonene and putting it in capsule form a few hours before should prevent this. Microdosing rue has never given me nausea.
Syrian rue microdosing is also absolutely incredible for anxiety and relaxation. It’s like a soft blanket has been put between you and your worries. It’s very gentle in lower doses. Harmine is one of the main alkaloids in this plant which is also found in the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, used to make Ayahuasca.
If you’re looking to obtain psychedelic states without ingesting any substances, holotropic breathwork can induce brief, yet incredible DMT states that leave you with a blissful and energized feeling much of the day. Native American tribes still practice dance and fasting rituals, and there’s also meditation, but that requires a steady and consistent practice.
Below I’ve written down some of the psychedelic substances and rituals I’ve found around the globe. This is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list but it gives you an idea of just how prevalent the use of altered states was (and is) in human society. This does not include plants like cacao, tea, and the coca plant which humans reap many benefits from but do not necessarily create altered states. For those who are sticklers on formatting, I wrote these down in a mix of common names and Latin binomials, so apologies ahead of time.
Do you think humans evolved with altered states of being?
Mexico
Peyote
Cannabis
Tobacco
Bufo alvarius
Psilcybe spp.
Salvia divinorum
Ipomoea purpurea seeds
South America
Anadenanthera colubrina
Bufo alvarius
Ayahuasca
Latua pubiflora
Datura stramonium
North America
Psilocybe spp.
Datura
Peyote
Fly agaric
Virola theiodora (ebena)
Desmanthus illinoensis (prairie bundle flower)
Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds
Ipomoea purpurea seeds
Canada
Psilocybe spp.
Australia
Dreamtime
Pituri (stimulant)
20-30 species of psychedelic mushrooms including Psilocybe subaeruginosa
Africa
Psilocybe ingeli
Psilocybe maluti
Tabernanthe iboga
Tabernanthe mannii
Dianthus (Carnation) and Silene species
Boophone disticha (San poison bulb)
African Psychoactive Plants. Journeys in Phytoalchemy that is available on Amazon, which documents 306 plant species being used for psychoactive purposes in African traditional medicine
Middle East
Syrian rue
Opium
Northern Europe
Mandrake
Henbane
Datura
Psilocybe semilanceata (Liberty cap)
India & surrounding areas
Mad honey
Psilocybe keralensis
Psilocybin spp
China
Black henbane
Reports of hallucinogenic mushrooms and toads
Japan
Psilocybe subcaerulipes
Russia
Amanita muscaria